Robert Guerrero – Fighting Mayweather Jr. with his faith or fists?

Guerrero: "I am going to humble Floyd Mayweather"

By Arvin Nundloll
Photos: Tom Casino/Showtime

From winning his first world title in 2006, to giving it all up to be by his wife’s side during her battle against leukemia, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero is no stranger to fighting inside or outside the ring. Guerrero is now faced with his biggest fight inside the ring with his chance to end the unbeaten streak of boxing’s undisputed pound for pound champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr., on May 4th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Speaking at a private press conference, Guerrero gave his opinion of Mayweather Jr. and the motivation for his upcoming fight, commenting that:

“Floyd was talking about this and that and I’m going to be the guy to humble him.”

“When you boast about everything, lift yourself so high, put yourself on a pedestal, the Lord will knock you of that pedestal. He will humble you in a way that’s unbelievable, he will really pierce your heart and I know the Lord’s using me to do that.”

While talking about faith, Guerrero told the press how he believes that he’s seen a lack of faith and conviction in Mayweather and as a man who has fallen from the grace of God, a man who will be punished for his sins and unchristian like behavior.

“In the faceoff, he (Floyd Mayweather Jr.) came up to me and said ‘Hey you know what, we say the same prayers, we say the same prayers, God don’t favor nobody’, but God does favor me, God does have favor over people. How do you think David beat Goliath?”

“He tells me you fight for your legacy, you fight for principles, I fight for money, I come to get mine. And when I told him that’s your problem, you worship your money, money is your God, he didn’t like that. He froze up when I told him that.”

“He’s the type of guy that underestimates faith and underestimates prayer because prayer is powerful.”

While Robert Guerrero is a passionate Christian, it isn’t uncommon for boxers to cite that God has placed them in a position to succeed – you need only look at Andre Ward’s nickname “Son of God” and his fight record for more proof. However, Mayweather Jr. is no stranger to religion, routinely praising God after every victory and once said, “God loves me, and I’m a hell of a fighter” when looking at how far he had come.

For this fight, Guerrero has been under the spotlight with Showtime cameras surrounding his every move, however Guerrero takes it in his stride and said that:

“It’s a little bit different, you’ve got the cameras around, you just stand back and just view everything. It’s an opportunity to spread the word.”

“I’ve been training and I’m in great shape. You know, it doesn’t bother me at all because I’ve been training. I’ve still got a month left, it’s knowing how to train and knowing when to peak and knowing when to pull back. Right now it’s just the perfect time, God just works in mysterious a way and he does great things and right now is the perfect time to just get this done and have the rest of camp to be ready.”

Guerrero also made it known that he always knew that the fight would take place, even when Mayweather sent out a tweet indicating that he was prepared to fight current IBF Welterweight champion Devon Alexander.

“I knew it was going to happen (the fight against Mayweather Jr.), I’ve been talking about this fight for the past two years, that it’s going to happen and I’ve been telling everybody that I’m going to beat Floyd Mayweather, I’m going to be the guy that beats Floyd Mayweather. I’ve been saying it for the past two years and now here it is and you guys are going to have the opportunity to see that on May 4th.”

In his closing words when pressed on what he was fighting for, Guerrero responded that he’s after something much larger than boxing.

“I’m a man of faith. Boxing is just a little blimp on the radar because I really feel that after boxing it’s going to be even bigger. The media and everybody right now can think ‘Oh man, it’s going to be one of the biggest events’ but I think for me honestly it’s going to be even bigger than that after boxing.”

Although Guerrero disapproves of Mayweather Jr. – seeing him as a man who had it all but gave in to temptation, chasing money rather than his own religious beliefs –both are men of faith and both have their belief in a higher power, but how much of that will help in the ring?

Manny Pacquiao found God and became a religious man, but couldn’t stop a dubious decision against Timothy Bradley or that straight right from Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather is in prime shape, riding high after his deal with Showtime and plans to end his career with zero losses. Guerrero has his faith and devotion to God, in which he believes that he has sent him to end Mayweather’s reign.

One thing both men will agree on is that on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at the MGM Grand, we’re guaranteed a fierce bout that will see two fighters put their faith in God and their boxing skills to see their hands raised in victory.